Great Military leaders of History? - Page 4

On February 15 2011 14:06 allecto wrote:
I agree completely on the Robert E. Lee pick.

I would throw in:

Julius Caesar

--lost 2-3 battles in his entire career
--trained legions that could "storm the heavens"

On February 15 2011 14:18 doubleupgradeobbies! wrote:



What? We have some fairly detailed evidence of the orders of battle, on several important battles. I've only ever heard that Hannibal(and Carthage's) cruelty may have been overstated by the Romans as propaganda. Alot of the records of his history is considered fairly dependable as they are from Polybius, who was considered a fairly neutral historian on the topic as he was Greek and not Roman.

On February 15 2011 14:27 Jonoman92 wrote:
No pictures of Boxer yet? This is heresy!!!

I've never been a huge history buff for battles, I sometimes wonder how we can really know for sure what happened so long ago considering its hard to say if the evidence we have is accurate.

On February 15 2011 13:49 Sufficiency wrote:


Pretty sure this is about being a good tactician, not about being a good warrior one-to-one.

On February 15 2011 14:31 O-ops wrote:


Actually his arrogance messed with his strategic sense (and his general willingness to obey specific orders) and result into one of the worst lost the Shu suffered and the lost of his own life.

And I was not talking about being a good warrior one to one. To give you a sense of how much of a tool this guy is, consider this: The warlord of of the nearby country want to marry his daughter to Guan Yu's son. Guan Yu, under specific order NOT to start shit up with that specific warlord (because his country's effort is currently being put to invading the neighboring land) replied "Why would a tiger's son marry the daughters of dogs?"

Sure, the guy has a lot of good moments, but when it comes down to it Zhao Yun was a much better general, on and off the field.

On February 15 2011 14:33 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
What about Admirals?

If so:

Lysander - Non royal Spartan and if I remember correctly was chosen for a second time because if he was defeated it was no chance of ruining any important families, except that he defeated the Athenian fleet which brought Athens to it's knees thus ending the Peloponnesian War.

+ Show Spoiler +

William T. Sherman:
You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it... Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail.